Variable rate gearing for vending machines



Dec. 9, 1941. T. DIETRICH ETAL 2,265,635 VARIABLE RATE GEARING FOR VENDING MACHINES Filed July 29, 1939 AT OR AFJ.

Patented Dec. 9, 1941 VARIABLE RATE GEARING FOR VENDING MACHINES Thodor Dietrich and Raymond Cunod, Geneva,

Switzerland, assignors to Landis Zug, Switzerland, a body corporate of Switzer land Application July 29,19

39, Serial No. 287,280

In Switzerland August 5, 1938 3 Claims. l Cl. 74-825) set forth in part hereinafter and in part will be obvious herefrom, or may be learned by practice with the invention, the same being realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations pointed out in the appended claims.

The invention consists in the novel parts, constructions, arrangements, combinations and improvements herein shown and. described.

The accompanying drawing, referred to herein and constituting a part hereof, illustrates one embodiment of the invention, and together with the description, serves to explain the principles of the invention.

Of the drawing:

Figure 1 is a partially diagrammatic plan view of a mechanism embodying the invention;

Figure 2 is a view similar to Fig. l of a modified embodiment; and

Figure 3 is a detail in elevation of a linking member employed in the dual mechanism shown in Fig, 2.

Objects of the invention are to provide an improved and simplified, variable rate gearing for coin-controlled metering or vending apparatus whereby the rate of operation of the apparatus may be varied widely by Very simple and inexpensive means. l-leretofore in setting such apparatus for operation at different rates with relation to a certain coin, e. g., the ratio between the coin that is'dropped into the machine and the consumption of current or the running time of a meter, flat rate motor or clock, it has been necessary to exchange whole sets of gears. This was troublesome and expensive and involved danger of inadvertently displacing measuring elements of the mechanism during manipulation of the gearing. The present invention overcomes these disadvantages, only one gear requiring to be exchanged and that being conveniently located in the most accessible part of the mechanism. Moreover, the danger of derangement of settings during the exchange is overcome as the invention provides for automatically locking the permanent parts of the mechanism during the exchange operation and for automatically releasing them when the exchanged gear is allocated in its operative relationship.

Referring now in detail to the present preferred embodiment of the invention, illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawing, a relatively simple form thereof is shown in Figure 1. As embodied, the driving worm 1 is preferably driven by a coin-controlled driving motor and differential gear not shown. The essential parts of the mechanism are supported from a main rear plate I and from a parallel spaced plate 2. A permanently positioned step gear 4 having any desired number of pinions of different diameters is mounted at the end of a main shaft 3 on the front side of the plate 2. Shaft 3 is driven at suitable speed from the Worm l by means of gear 5 which meshes with gearing 6 on the intermediate shaft 6a.

The invention provides a release switch or cam l6 adapted to be rotated at the predetermined rate from the step gear 4 and to release the meter switch or other control means not shown upon reaching the predetermined position in accordance with the rate determined by the coin control or the like. Release member I6 is mounted on the end of shaft I5 to the rear of plate I, said shaft being driven through gear l4 meshing with gear I l which is fixed to the intermediate shaft 8. A helical spring 20 is fixed at one end to the control member IS on shaft I5 and at its other end in the plate I, whereby the counterforce of the spring causes immediate stoppage of the rotation of shaft l5 upon release of the switch or the like through cam member it.

In accordance with the invention the driving connections between step gear 4 and the intermediate shaft 8 are designed to permit ready selection of the desired step on gear 4 and during the exchange to automatically lock the remaining parts of the driven mechanism in their proper positions. mounted on the portion of shaft 8 which projects in front of plate 2 and is there adapted to engage one of the steps of gear 4. The hub IQ of gear I8 is slotted at its inner end so as to fit about a pin Ill projecting from shaft 8. The outer end of shaft 8 is reduced and threaded to receive the knurled nut I! which on being tightened presses against the outer end 30 of the hub of gear l8 and thereby causes the hub 19 of said gear to move inwardly along the shaft 8. Shaft 8 is provided with an outwardly projecting sleeve 3| which extends through a suitable opening in plate 2 and at its outer end bears against the inner end of hub l9. An enlarged annular shoulder or brake As embodied, a gear I8 is removablyratios in steps of tens up to one 2 disc I 2 is provided on the hub 3| adjacent the inner surface of plate 2. Said brake disc [2 is urged toward frictional engagement with the inner surface of plate 2 by a coil spring I 3 connecting the fixed gear H and the movable brake I2. Brake J 2 is normally held out of engagement with plate 2 by compressionof the spring 13 through contact between the end of hub l9 and sleeve 3|, that is, when gear I8 is seated in posi-- tion by the screwing down of nut l1. However, when an exchange gear I 8 :is'fremovedrfromvthe mechanism, release of the nut I! causes brake-J2 to immediately engage the surface of. plate 2 ,and thereby restrain further rotation of gear H and the remaining members of the train to release member l6. Setting of the exchange gear by screwing down of the nut I! will release shaft 8 for operation with the new gear.

In Fig. 2 is shown a form of the invention designed for providing a greater range of gear'ratios than possible with the form in Fig. 1. As embodied, a dual set of exchange gears driven from the step gear 4 is provided, that is, a second intermediate shaft 8 is mounted parallel to shaft 8. A second exchange gear 24 is mounted for engagement with a different pinion of the step gear 4, while the movable brake l2, actuating spring l3 and other similarly prime numbered parts will be recognized to correspond to the similarly numbered parts of the companion shaft '8. The rotating motion from shaft 8' is coupled to that from shaft 8 through differential gearing 25 mounted on shaft I5. A pinion 2| on shaft 8' drives gear 22 and thereby one side of difierential 25, while the opposite side of the differential is driven from gear 34.

The foregoing arrangement makes possible much more extensive gear ratios. For example, if the gear ratios possible through shaft 8 are from 1 to 10, while the gears 2| and 22 drive the differential ten times more rapidly, it is thus possible through the coupling axle 8' hundred, i. e., squares of the basic ratio from, shaft 8. In this manner with a set of ten exchange provide gear ratios from hundred in unit steps.

When, in the form utilize only the gear shaft 8, the gear 24 one to one of Figure 2, it is desired to ratios available from the may be disconnected from the coupling axle 8' and the brake l2 will then look the shaft ,8. In this case the gearing will run only on one sun wheel of the differential 25, transmitting directly the impulse from shaft 8.

Means are provided kurled nuts l1 and H, which may easily happen in exchanging the gears I8 and 24. For this purpose the nuts are connected to,a cross link v23 having yoked or fork-shaped openings at its ends which permit free turning of the nuts while gears it is for preventing loss of the the invention advantages.

, change gear to provide gear 1. Transmission gearing for variable-rate bination a driven member operable at predetermined rates, step gearing for actuating said member at different selective rate means for interchangeably connecting a preselected exvary the rate of operation of said her,

driven memand means for automatically locking the of said interchange, said means including a brake on the exchange gear-shaft actuated by axial movement of the exchange gear along said shaft.

2. Transmission gearing for variable-rate vending machines or the like including in combination a driven member operable at predeterchange of said gear, comprising a spring-pressed brake coaxial withthe exchange gear adapted to member in position and means on the exchange gear for normally holding said brake out of locking engagement. 1 V

3. Transmission gearing for variable -rate normally hold engagement. DIE'IRICH. cUE'No ing said brake disc out of braking I THEODOR RAYMOND 

